Israel expands ground offensive in Gaza amid communications blackout
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The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) is expanding ground operations in the Gaza Strip, as intense airstrikes continue to rock the enclave and Israeli authorities cutting off all landline, cellular and internet communications, pushing the territory into a near-total communications blackout.
The Palestine Red Cross Society (PRCS) in a statement on Friday late night said that they have completely lost contact with the operations room in the Gaza Strip and all three teams operating there.
PRCS alleges that this was due to the Israeli authorities cutting off all landline, cellular and internet communications.
The international organisation said that it was deeply concerned about the ability of its teams to continue providing their emergency medical services as this disruption was affecting the central emergency number "101" and hindering the arrival of ambulance vehicles to the wounded and injured persons.
The agency said, "We are also worried about the safety of our teams working in Gaza Strip as the continuous and intense Israeli airstrikes around the clock indicate that the Israeli authorities will continue to commit war crimes while isolating Gaza from the outside world."
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The Palestine Red Cross appealed to the international community to put pressure on the Israeli authorities to provide immediate protection to innocent civilians, medical facilities and its teams.
More than 1 million Palestinian children and their parents are living through “pure horror” in the besieged enclave, says humanitarian group Save the Children, reports CNN.
“We don’t have any internet, we don’t have any kind of signals on our phones, we’ve become totally isolated in the territory,” reported Tareq Abu Azzoum, a journalist with Al Jazeera from Khan Younis in Gaza on Friday, as quoted by Al Jazeera. Residents were “terrified and afraid,” he said.
Northern Gaza was being pounded by air raids and artillery reports Al Jazeera. “In the last two hours, we could hear intensive air strikes and intensive artillery shells at the same time, which is something unusual – which means the strength of the fire is much more than in the previous days,” said Safwat Kahlout, an Al Jazeera journalist reporting from Gaza City, as quoted by the channel.
Amidst this, the UN General Assembly has approved a non-binding resolution calling for a truce.
At least 7,326 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israeli communities on October 7. Since then, Israel has imposed a complete siege on Gaza, cutting access to food, water, fuel, and electricity for the enclave’s 2.3 million residents who have few options for seeking refuge.
